Cizre has a mediterranean climate (Csa in the Köppen climate classification) with wet, mild, rarely snowy winters and dry, extremely hot summers. Daily summer temperatures of 113 °F (45 °C) or higher are common, as well as below freezing temperatures in the winter.

During the Early Iron Age, Cizre was in the kingdom of Kumme, north of Assyria. In classical antiquity, it was located in Corduene (Kardu). In 19th century scholarship, it was often named as the location of Alexander's crossing of the Tigris in 331 BC, further identified with the Roman stronghold of Bethzabde (Syriac: ܒܝܬ ܙܒܕܝ‎, Bēṯ Zaḇdai), although Stein (1942) is sceptical of this.

Bethzabde was part of the Roman province of Mesopotamia. The chronicler Msiha Zkha speaks of three bishops of Beth Zabdai in the 2nd and 3rd centuries: Merza, Soubha-liso, and Sabtha.[3] In 360 Bishop Theodorus was deported by the Persians, along with the general population, and died as a result of the forced march. Another bishop, Maras, was one of the Fathers of the Council of Chalcedon in 451 and in 458 was one of the signatories of the letter of the bishops of Mesopotamia to Emperor Leo I the Thracian after the death of Proterius of Alexandria.[4][5]

In medieval Islamic tradition, Cizre is the location of Thamanin, the town founded by Noah at the foot of Mount Judi where Noah's Ark came to rest, and a "tomb of Noah" as well as a "tomb of Mem and Zin" can be visited in Cizre. Al-Masudi (d. 956) reports that the spot where the ark landed could still be seen in his time. Benjamin of Tudela in the 12th century adds that ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb had made the remnants of the ark into a mosque.

In the 19th century, it was the site of a Kurdish rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.[7]

Cizre was home to an Armenian community of about 3,000. However, in late June 1915, during the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian males, along with a few Syriac bishops, were arrested, tortured, and subsequently murdered. Many of the victims had their throat slit and were then thrown into the river Tigris. The women were deported on rafts towards Mosul. A few survived through the means of adoption by local Kurds; however, most were raped and/or drowned.[8] The remaining Armenian population, located in the rural parts of Cizre, was massacred on 8 August 1915. Few managed to survive.[9][10]

In October 2014 least 35 people were killed when riots broke out in the city over Turkey’s response to the civil war in neighbouring Syria, blocking Kurdish fighters from crossing the border into Syria.[12] 17 of its citizens who fought with fellow Kurds died in Syria during the Siege of Kobanî.[7]

During the Kurdish–Turkish conflict in September 2015, Cizre was blockaded by Turkish Security Forces, who besieged the town and placed a curfew for eight days, after the YDG-H, an organization founded by youth who sympathize with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), in an attempt at self-rule, had raised barricades, planted explosives and dug trenches in the city.[13][14] During the curfew the town had limited access to water and food and many of the injured were prohibited to receive professional medical treatment. According to the Turkish government, most of the dead were PKK militants, however, according to the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, 20 civilians were killed.[15] The Council of Europe raised concerns about "disproportionate use of force by security forces against civilians."[16]

On 13 December 2015, the Turkish authorities renewed the curfew on Cizre city to repress Kurdish militants. The siege lasted until 11 February 2016. The Turkish Army stated that 659+ PKK militants had been killed during the curfew. By 14 February, 123 bodies were reportedly amassed in local morgues, most of the bodies were reported to have been burnt. On 7 February, a large-scale operation was conducted in the Cudi neighbourhood and a number of buildings were hit by artillery. Turkish army claimed that 10 PKK militants had been killed in the operation, whilst pro-Kurdish sources claimed that those killed were civilians. Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) claimed that 70–90 injured civilians had been forced to stay in the basements of buildings in Cudi for 20 days.[17] On 11 February, military operations in the city ceased.[18] On 1 March 2016, it was announced that the curfew would end the following day.[18] Human rights groups claimed that 263 had been killed, including at least 92 civilians.[14]

On 26 August 2016, 11 police officers were killed and 78 other people wounded when an explosives-laden truck was detonated at a police checkpoint about 50 metres from a police station near the town. The state-run Anadolu Agency blamed the Kurdistan Workers' Party for the attack.[20]

Leyla Imret, a former mayor of Cizre, and German politician Cem Özdemir, 15 September 2015

The mayor of Cizre, Aydın Budak, was arrested in December 2009 as part of the KCK investigation. In October 2011 he was removed from office by the Ministry of the Interior before his trial had concluded.[21]

The current mayor of Cizre is Leyla Imret. As a 27-year-old woman, she is currently the youngest mayor in Turkey.[22] During the siege of Cizre, she was removed from her post for charges of inciting hatred and supporting terrorism.[23]